"The location is known as a photographer's dream for the few who dare to trek out there," the city website states.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Come visit Staten Island's magnificent boats!

No, not the iconic Staten Island Ferry -- but rather the rusted-out sunken hulls that lie like corpses in our infamous boat graveyard off Arthur Kill Road in Rossville.

That's the essence of an NYC tourism pitch made through Twitter to our neighbors in the United Kingdom.

"It may not have the #MaryRose, but NYC does have a rather spooky Boat Graveyard on Staten Island," read the tweet, sent Thursday through a feed directed exclusively at the U.K. The Mary Rose was the 16th-century flagship of King Henry VIII.

It wasn't just a fleeting reference, however. The boat graveyard, visible from the Outerbridge Crossing, has a spot in New York Summer: A British Guide to NYC, a tumblr blog page run by the city. It's also listed on the city's main tourism website, beckoning intrepid tourists determined to satisfy their morbid maritime curiosity.

In a report, the New York Observer scoffed at the city's effort to promote the site: "City Tries to Trick Brits Into Visiting Staten Island Boat Dump," the headline read. But the location is a major draw for photographers, as a Google search of "staten island boat graveyard" reveals.

"Naturally,
this is not a place for casual sightseers, but the location is known as
a photographer's dream for the few who dare to trek out there," the city website states, while calling attention to the abandoned tugs, ferries and barges that litter the Arthur Kill in the borough's southwest corner.